Career and Technical Education (CTE) Incentive Grants

About CTE Incentive Grants

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Incentive Grant program was established on December 11, 2013, by Wisconsin Act 59. Grants from this program incentivize school districts to offer high-quality career and technical education programs that mitigate workforce shortages in key industries and occupations. The grants reimburse up to $1,000 for each pupil in a school district earning an approved industry-recognized certification.

Administering this program requires the collaboration of several state Departments. The Department of Workforce Development (DWD), with the consultation of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the Wisconsin Technical College System Office (WTCS), will create an approved list of industries and occupations with workforce shortages, and an accompanying list of industry-recognized certifications, each year. Only students who have earned certifications on that list will be valid for reimbursement under these grants.

Applying for Grant Funds

School districts must apply annually to the DPI with a listing of their students that have earned approved certifications and provide supporting documentation for each certification. Please see The Department of Public Instructions website to apply.

A pre-recorded webinar explaining the process for Class of 2019 students was conducted June 17, 2019.

Topics:

2019 CTE Technical Incentive Grant changes

Application completion

Application submission

Process for adding NEW certifications to the Approved List.

Approved Certifications List

A list of approved certifications was initially developed in 2014 between DPI and DWD, which was used for the Class of 2014 students (who graduated in or about June 2014). The official list(s) for other years can be found at:

Note: This list applies to the class of 2021 and on graduates only. Use the Class of 2020 list for your upcoming Class of 2020 grant submissions.

Adding New Certifications

Applications to add new certifications to this list are currently CLOSED. DWD will reopen the application process later in the year to accept applications to add new certifications to the Class of 2022 list.

Send all questions regarding this page, to the following contact: DWD YA Staff at YA@DWD.WISCONSIN.GOV.